Ceylon Today Editorial

High time constructions regulated and streamlined

22 May 2017

The site of the five-storey building which collapsed last Thursday (18) by the Wellawatte canal near the Savoy cinema resembled a debris site of a collapsed building in a Hollywood movie!

In the backdrop of fire engines, Police cars and ambulances, men were seen working day and night to clear the debris of the collapsed building. Apart from efforts to clear the debris, they were also seen searching for those still missing following the mishap.
The building which collapsed was famous for wedding receptions and other social events. People gather there in their hundreds to take part in these functions. Fortunately, there was no major loss of life at the time the building collapsed.

Colombo's skyline has changed drastically with the influx of people on a mega scale, finding shelter in the capital city. Lands where sprawling, single houses were found in various parts of Colombo and the suburbs, replaced now with condominium flats with several houses.

These flats and other high rise buildings began mushrooming on a large scale following the turbulent conditions in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

As the situation took a turn for the worse in the two provinces and with the flow of foreign remittances from expatriate Tamils, the affluent from the North and the East were targeted by unscrupulous building constructors in Colombo.

In the backdrop of clashes in the North and the East spreading to Colombo, utmost concern was paid towards the security in the South and hardly any attention was given to unauthorized constructions dominating the Colombo skyline on a large scale.

Following the Wellawatte mishap Megapolis and Western Development Minister, Patali Champika Ranawaka made a startling revelation that the Urban Development Authority (UDA) had identified 10,000 unauthorized constructions in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and Kolonnawa.

The Minister's revelation seems to question as to what the UDA was doing when not one or two but 10,000 unauthorized structures had come up and ironically not far away from the capital but within the capital city!

From the Minister's revelation it could be seen how underhand dealings have played a huge role in sanctioning the 10,000 constructions.

Most of developed and developing countries pay much attention when approving new buildings: Prioritizing human safety and other essential aspects such as the environment. Proportions of the new constructions are taken into consideration when permission is granted for new constructions to come up in urban areas.

It is interesting to note that age-old systems were still in place when the new constructions are carried out in the UK. It is pleasant to see houses built in the UK in a manner where more attention paid to environment and infrastructure.

However, in Sri Lanka no proper system is adopted and ad hoc constructions are the order of the day, with waste management being overlooked.

Condominium flats are built in Wellawatte and other suburban areas in Colombo with various fake dealings with banks. Several people who have bought these apartments in Wellawatte do not have proper title deeds.

As Minister Ranawaka has clearly pointed out that not a mere handful of buildings but 10,000 unauthorized constructions have been put up in Colombo and the suburbs, the pertinent question is how the UDA will deal with the situation in getting rid of these buildings constructed illegally and nabbing the culprits responsible for sanctioning these unauthorized constructions.

If the Minister is seriously concerned about bringing down these unauthorized constructions, his Ministry should join hands with the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) to identify those behind the underhand dealings in sanctioning these unauthorized structures.

Daily News Editorial

New beginning for Iran

22 May 2017

In giving a strong mandate to reformist Hassan Rouhani to continue as President for a second term, an overwhelming majority of Iranians have rejected isolationism and fundamentalism and opted for closer integration with the rest of the world. This is a great result for the people of Iran as well as the International Community.

According to Iran's Interior Ministry as reported by Iran’s Press TV, Rouhani (68) won about 57% of the vote with more than 23.5 million votes against his main challenger conservative Ebrahim Raisi's 15.7 million. In a live speech carried by State TV, Rouhani said on Saturday that the vote showed Iran's willingness to work with the international community and a rejection of hardliners.

Indeed, the tenure of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was an unmitigated disaster for Iran, which faced crippling Western sanctions for continuing its Uranium enrichment programme. Rouhani knew more about the effects of sanctions than anyone else - after all he was the country’s chief nuclear negotiator who reached a deal with European nations to halt Uranium enrichment back in 2004. However, differences between the two men led to Rouhani’s resignation and the recommencement of the nuclear programme, which resulted in sanctions.

Rouhani, who grew up in Sorkheh, a small town in Iran’s northern Semnan province, is from a conservative family. As a young law student, Rouhani was heavily involved in the Islamic Revolution that saw the ouster of the Shah. He rose rapidly through the ranks of power in Tehran and later met an inspiring leader who would change his outlook on the world.

President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, under whom Rouhani served as National Security Advisor, is his mentor and inspiration. Rafsanjani understood the importance of opening up to and working with the West and Rouhani too followed in his footsteps. After winning the Presidency in 2013, Rouhani oversaw Iran’s participation in a multilateral initiative in 2015 to halt the nuclear programme. It began with a telephone conversation with then President Barack Obama, the highest-level exchange between the two countries since the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis in Tehran.

Despite new US President Donald Trump’s initial promise to rip up the nuclear agreement, it is still holding on and so far, there is no sign that either side will dishonour the agreement that has lifted the sanctions imposed on Iran. Although there is no immediate sign of a further thaw in US-Iran ties, the country is already reaping the benefits of the lifting of most of the sanctions.

To cite an example, both Boeing and Airbus have signed multi-billion agreements to supply hundreds of new aircraft to replace Iran Air’s ageing fleet. It has also benefitted the economy by increasing oil production and exports. The oil sector alone expanded by a staggering 65.4%, thanks to higher crude production and exports following the lifting of sanctions. Iran is one of the top oil-producing countries in the world, ranked number seven.

Enforcing this agreement and seeing the rest of the sanctions off is just one challenge facing Rouhani. Rouhani will have to work hard to push his reform agenda which has seen the resumption of the publication of reformist newspapers, release of imprisoned journalists, expansion of 3G and 4G networks for smartphone usage and many other beneficial moves. He will no doubt have to keep in mind the fact that ultimate power in the country rests with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has held the title since 1989. Khamenei controls the country's Security Forces and can veto any presidential policies. In fact, Khamenei has challenged some aspects of Rouhani's rapprochement with the West. Rouhani will thus have to engage in a finely balanced act on the international stage.

The sluggish economy which took a major hit from the international sanctions remains a major concern, with youth unemployment at a staggering 12.7 percent (mid-2016). Iran is basically a “young” country and this could lead to discontent among the youth. Inflation is down, but this has slowed down the economy. The IMF has projected that Iran’s economic growth will stabilize at 4.5% over the medium-term, as the country’s recovery broadens. Real GDP growth is expected to reach 6.6% in 2016-17 and to ease to 3.3% in 2017-18.

The export and production figures too are not very positive. Rouhani has already talked of a workforce training programme aimed at ending joblessness that has left the electorate largely disappointed with his promise of economic recovery. Years of sanctions have kept foreign investors at bay and with the new developments in the US, most investors are unwilling to take the plunge in Iran. The country’s disorganised banking system is another cause for worry. Iran's dual foreign exchange rates regime is also seen as an obstacle to the country's reintegration into the global banking system and payment networks.

Rouhani will have to grapple with all these issues and his job will not be an easy one. But under his reformist drive, Iran has the potential to become a beacon of hope for the region.

The Island Editorial

Left right?

22 May 2017

It looks as if the UK were emulating Sri Lanka where attractive promises in election manifestoes are concerned. Instead of addressing core policy issues the UK is faced with, Conservatives and the Labour Party are busy trying to endear themselves to voters by offering to liberate the masses from the clutches of big businesses; they have also promised enhanced welfare measures. As the article on this page today points out, their manifestoes resemble shopping lists, as it were, and are indicative of a swing to the left.

The Labour Party has gone so far as to promise free university education, the nationalisation of most of the public utilities and proofing state pensions against inflation, among other things. Conservatives, in power, have been somewhat realistic and cautious in making promises, but they, too, have undertaken to grant relief to the public such as a cap on utility charges. Any incumbent administration is wary of making the same promises as the Opposition at elections. However, measures promised by the Conservatives such as streaming in education, which allows successful pupils to enter selective schools, requiring universities to sponsor secondary education and setting aside funds they raise from course fees to fund schools can be considered progressive.

If Jeremy Corbyn got elected by any chance with the Labour Party getting its act together and turning the tables on the Conservatives, he would find himself in the same predicament as Sri Lanka’s yahapalana leaders who promised a massive pay hike in a bid to win the last presidential election and got into trouble later on. Whether the Labour Party will be in a position to nationalise utilities companies in the event of coming back to power remains to be seen. However, Corbyn can rest assured that his offer of free university education will go down well with the voting public, especially the young voters. The party which wins over the youth usually enjoys social media backing, which is a prerequisite for winning elections in today’s world.

Intriguingly, while the main Opposition party in the UK is promising to abolish university fees and nationalise some businesses the yahapalana government here is promoting the establishment of fee-levying universities to cater to the increasing demand for higher education and mulling over the divestiture of some state ventures! Are we witnessing, in this country, the opposite of the left swing in Britain?

It will be interesting to see the reaction of the international lending institutions, which frown on nationalisation and free education, to the Labour promises.

There have been some misconceptions about free education and free healthcare. It is being argued in some quarters that nothing should be given free of charge. What the critics of these welfare measures have failed to realise is that social expenditure which was once erroneously considered detrimental to capitalism is, in fact, supportive of capital accumulation. Social expenses create an environment conducive to the growth of capital as the seminal works on economics such as The Fiscal Crisis of the State by James O'Connor point out. The state, O’Connor et al have argued, seeks to achieve this objective through two kinds of expenditure—social expenses and social capital. Social expenses are necessary for law and order purposes, social security, rehabilitation etc to maintain social order and legitimacy: social capital is essential for the promotion of capital accumulation either directly in the form of social investment designed to lower the cost of constant capital such as spending on economic infrastructure or indirectly in the form of social consumption such as spending on housing, healthcare etc. What would happen if free education and free healthcare services were to be scrapped in this country? Besides the attendant social upheavals which would inevitably dislodge the government responsible for such a move, the cost of labour would increase with workers demanding higher pay; the quality of the workforce would also suffer without ready access to education and healthcare. This is why most private sector institutions consider their expenses on healthcare facilities etc for workers a worthwhile investment.

As for the recently unveiled ‘shopping-list’ election manifestoes in the UK one may ask whether the former colonial power which used to consider socialism as evil as the devil himself has come to realise that the left is right.